


Klaine Advent 2017

by whatstheproblembaby



Category: Glee
Genre: Fluff, Klaine Advent 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-09 04:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 7,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12880281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatstheproblembaby/pseuds/whatstheproblembaby
Summary: A collection of whatever fills I manage to do!





	1. Day 1 - Attachment

“Rachel, help. I’m attached to Blaine.”

“Babe, you’re married to him, so I’d really hope you were, yeah.”

“No, I mean-”

“What do you mean, _no_? You’ve been starry-eyed for Blaine ever since you went to Dalton to spy on the competition. If looks could kill, you would have murdered me when we went on that date in high school. You’re attached, Kurt.”

“That’s not-”

“Oh, it’s _so_ true, why are you trying to argue with me on this? Do you not _want_ to be in love with your husband? Because you’ve tried breaking up, and it clearly hasn’t worked for you.”

“I need-”

“I know you need him, and he needs you too! You guys work so well together, it’s almost sickening. What’s that? Oh, Santana says it _is_ sickening, no almost necessary.”

“RACHEL.”

“What?”

“I _mean_ , I’m physically attached to Blaine. My brooch got caught in his sweater when I tried to hug him goodbye this morning, and now we’re stuck. Can you _please_ come over and separate us, preferably without ripping his sweater or breaking my brooch?”

“Oh. I’m on my way!”

“And Rach?”

“Yes?”

“Ditch Santana before you get here. I’d like to live this down sometime before I find my first gray hairs.”

“Will do.”

Kurt appreciates that he only hears her burst into a deep belly laugh for a second before the line goes dead.


	2. Day 2 - Bucket

Kurt stooped over to look inside the bucket he’d placed under the leak in their ceiling a few minutes ago. It was already about a quarter of the way full, which was a little concerning - their building didn’t have an emergency maintenance number, so he and Blaine would be stuck swapping out buckets all weekend until their landlord got in on Monday if this leak didn’t peter out in a little while.

 _And it’s in such an inconvenient place, too,_ he grumbled internally as he straightened back up. The leak had sprouted about a foot away from their front door, just close enough that if someone didn’t know the bucket was there, they’d kick it over once they got inside and headed for the coat rack.

Kurt took a couple of steps away from the bucket, vaguely in the direction of the kitchen table, before pulling out his phone to text Blaine a warning about the leak.

_Hey, B, be careful when-_

“Hi, honey!” Blaine’s voice sang from the front door, prompting Kurt to drop his phone and turn around in a panic. “I got done earl-ow!”

Just as Kurt had suspected, Blaine’s foot connected solidly with the bucket as he entered the apartment, sending it flying. Unfortunately, Kurt hadn’t cleared the blast zone when he stepped away to send Blaine that text.

“Oh my God!” Kurt’s shout was a little higher-pitched than usual, due to the water now soaking his head and torso, while Blaine’s echoed a few notes lower as his brain processed what had just happened.

“Kurt, what-”

“We have a leak,” Kurt said, mopping at his eyes with the less damp of his sleeves. “I was texting you to warn you when you walked in the door.”

“Oh.” Blaine hurried over to rub his own sleeves over Kurt’s cheeks. “Ugh, and this water is _freezing_ , too. I’m so sorry, Kurt!”

“You didn’t do it on purpose,” Kurt said, dropping his arms to rest them on Blaine’s shoulders. “I think I’m gonna go take a real shower, though, to get this crap off of me.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Blaine said, smiling. “I think I’ll order dinner while you’re getting clean. What are you in the mood for?”

“Maybe that Philly cheesesteak pizza from the good place nearby? I know you don’t like it as much as I do, but-”

“Babe, I just soaked you with water from a leak in our ceiling. You deserve whatever pizza you want.”

“I do, don’t I?”

“You really do.”


	3. Day 3 - Collapse

Blaine shook out his wrist before grabbing the tiny Allen wrench and tightening the last screw in the new coffee table he’d picked up from Ikea as a surprise for Kurt.

“Oh, this is nice,” he said, standing up to survey his handiwork. Their old coffee table had been salvaged from the side of the road back in Lima, and while the deep mahogany color had gone with their living room furniture, the scratches and gouges in the surface and legs had shortly gone from _shabby chic_ to just _shabby_. When Mercedes got a splinter trying to pick up her after-dinner drink at their last dinner party, he and Kurt knew enough was enough.

“Yeah, he’ll like this.” Blaine cracked his back, sighing happily, then continued, “Of course, he’s the one who saw it online in the first place. I’m just the muscle.”

Off to the right side of the table, Blaine saw a couple of extra screws glint in the leftover packaging, which gave him pause.

“Should there be that much extra hardware? I don’t think I missed any holes.” He looked around for something big enough to put on the table to test its stability - a book, a candle, anything like that - but didn’t see anything that wouldn’t break if the table collapsed under the weight.

“Plan B, then.” Blaine plopped down on the couch, kicking his feet up in front of him so they landed on the table with a soft _thud_.

The _thud_ the coffee table made as it crashed to the ground was much louder.

Blaine felt his face take on an overly comical expression of shock as the rest of his body froze. He was still looking at the wreckage in disbelief when Kurt walked in.

“Hi, B! Oh, you got that new coffee table! Are you just about to put it together?” Kurt asked, unwrapping his scarf and hanging it up on their coat tree, along with his jacket and hat.

“I already did,” Blaine said.

“What - honey, did it collapse? Are you okay?” Kurt said, coming over to kneel next to the fallen table.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, I think I just went into shock for a moment,” Blaine said, shaking his head. “No blood, nothing’s broken.”

“Good. Then you can help me figure out what went wrong here,” Kurt said, a gently teasing tone in his voice.

“Are you sure you want me to? What if I take out the floor next?” Blaine teased back.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Kurt said, smiling. He flipped the table over - Blaine moved to the other end to help when he realized what Kurt wanted to do - then started looking between the bottom of the table and the instruction sheet on the floor.

“Blaine.”

“Yes?”

“Did you have these two beams crossed when you put this together?”

Blaine looked where Kurt was pointing. “No.”

“Well, that’s probably the issue, then. The picture has these supports in an X, not parallel.”

“Really?!” Blaine crawled over to the instruction sheet. “Huh. How did I miss that?”

“These things are a nightmare to interpret, it’s not your fault,” Kurt said. “At least it’s an easy fix!”

“Still, I might just keep my feet on the floor for a while.”

“You sure? I could be persuaded to give you a foot massage later.”

“Well, if you’re gonna twist my arm....”


	4. Day 4 - Drink

Blaine was so hot, he thought his skin was about to melt right off his bones like Anakin’s did in the lava pits.

“Ugh.” He thrashed a little in bed, enough to move the blankets off his arms and give him some relief. “Don’ wanna be Vader. Wanna be Luke. Mebbe Rey.”

He would have kept muttering about Star Wars, but he noticed that his nose was dripping down his face. It took all his energy to lean over to his nightstand and grab a tissue.

“Doing okay, B?” Kurt asked, entering the room with a big glass tumbler in his hand.

Blaine just giggled.

“I’m taking that as a no,” Kurt said with a smirk. “NyQuil really fucks you up, huh?”

“I - I’m fine,” Blaine said, still laughing softly. “It’s just - you’re a tall drink of water bringing me a tall drink of water.”

Kurt was silent for a moment before letting out a cackle.

“Oh, honey, that was the _worst_ line. Sweet, but absolutely terrible.”

Blaine pouted for a moment before having to cough. When he got his breath back, he whined, “Be nice to me, I’m sick.”

“Your cough sounds worse,” Kurt said, putting the water on Blaine’s nightstand before taking a seat next to him on the edge of the bed and placing a hand against his forehead. “Do you need some Vick’s?”

“Maybe. And maybe some more tissues?” Blaine said, sighing at the coolness of Kurt’s hand.

“Coming right up. You lay here and heal, okay?”

“Yessir. Whatever you want.”

“Just what I like to hear.”


	5. Day 5 - Example

“You guys are going to ruin me, you know that?”

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a confused look before turning to their fifteen-year-old daughter, Ella.

“Care to elaborate on that, sweet pea?” Kurt asked.

“I’m going to die alone with sixteen cats and a couple of succulents, and it’s all your and Daddy’s fault,” Ella said, flopping face-first into the throw pillows at the end of the couch.

“Is that really dying alone?” Blaine whispered into Kurt’s ear, making him have to stifle a giggle before their daughter got even more pissed off.

“Ella, unless one of us fitted you with a chastity belt in our sleep, you’re gonna have to tell us what you mean by that,” Kurt said, sitting down by Ella’s legs so he could stroke her hair.

Ella rolled over before saying, “You’ve set an example for relationships I can’t possibly live up to. Like, look at you - you’re wearing color-coordinated outfits, and you didn’t even plan it this time. You were dancing to a Michael Buble song when I got home just now, and I _know_ Daddy started it but Papa ended up leading because he’s super bossy and ends up taking charge of everything. You’ll probably ask each other what to make for dinner later, and Papa will say an entree and Daddy will say a side dish and they’ll complement each other perfectly but you’ll have had no idea the other person was gonna say what they said. How am I supposed to find a boy my age to do any of that with? I mean, today at school, Travis thought he was hot shit because his t-shirt didn’t have any holes in it, for God’s sake!”

“Language!” Blaine reprimanded gently.

“ _Daddy._ Is that _really_ the most important part of what I just said?”

“Oh, baby,” Kurt said, chuckling softly. “You think we were like this from day one?”

“I mean, I did serenade you the first time we met...,” Blaine said.

“Okay, not the best example. But I once horrified your father because I high-fived your Uncle Finn after an impressive belch instead of asking to be excused.”

“And you still horrify me to this day for calling belches ‘impressive,’“ Blaine teased. “And sweetie, I constantly annoy your papa by insisting on folding my clothes before putting them in the hamper. Even the best relationships aren’t always sunshine and daisies.”

“Sometimes they’re about being an umbrella in a thunderstorm,” Kurt finished, looking at Blaine lovingly.

Ella just stared exasperatedly for a moment. “You couldn’t even finish telling me relationships aren’t always cute before being cute! What the hell?!”

She stomped off to her room, not quite slamming her door behind her but definitely shutting it louder than normal.

“She has a point, you know,” Kurt said.

“She’ll find someone one day who can help her live up to our example. Until then, what _should_ we make for dinner? I was really in the mood for potatoes au gratin.”

“Perfect, because I was thinking about roasted chicken.”

“...Crap, she was right.”

“She’s my daughter, of course she wa- _stop! Blaine!_ ”

Their dinner plans were put on hold momentarily as Blaine tickled Kurt mercilessly.


	6. Day 6 - Fraction

“Okay, I have to apologize real quick, but then I have a question, if you don’t mind.”

Blaine froze in the doorway of the apartment, hands still up near his neck to remove his scarf. “Uh…can I at least get all the way inside first?”

“Yes, sorry, didn’t mean to completely blindside you,” Kurt said, flapping his hands toward the coat rack. “I’ll be on the couch.”

“Alright, what’s up?” Blaine asked once he’d removed all his winter gear and taken a seat next to Kurt.

“I was straightening up our office a little when I accidentally read a paper that you must have made during a therapy session. I’m sorry I invaded your privacy like that, even accidentally!” Kurt said, looking a little panicked.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Blaine said gently. “I appreciate that you told me, but I’m not upset that you accidentally saw one of my papers - it could happen to anyone.”

“Okay. Okay, great,” Kurt said, taking a deep breath. “I just - I know therapy is supposed to be confidential, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to break that.”

“I trust you,” Blaine said. “Simple as that. And your question?”

“Is related to what I saw, so again, don’t answer it if it’s too invasive,” Kurt said. He unfolded a piece of paper from his front pocket before continuing, “So the reason I even read the paper is because I saw my name. And I have to ask…why am I outside of your heart, Blaine?”

Blaine looked at the drawing he’d made a few sessions back that divided his heart into different sized segments based on how much he cared about certain elements of his life. _Music, friends, family, performing_ and more all had relatively large fractions dedicated to them, but as Kurt said, his name was in stark black letters outside the border.

“Oh, Kurt,” Blaine said, a soft smile on his face. “You see what color your name is in?”

“Yes,” Kurt said suspiciously.

“And you see what color the border of my heart is?”

“They’re both black, yes. Is that symbolic of something?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Blaine said, putting a hand on top of one of Kurt’s. “You’re the border of my heart, Kurt. Not a fraction of me, but all of me. You affect everything I do. But - and this is the breakthrough I made in that session - those pieces are still there even if you’re not. I still love them, and they still make me _me_. I’m not nothing without you.”

Kurt wiped his eyes. “You know, in a lot of movies, I’d be sad-crying because you’re not nothing without me.”

“But these are…?”

“Happy tears, obviously. I’ve always thought you were so special, Blaine. Not you-as-my-boyfriend, or you-as-my-husband, but _you_. I’m glad you’re learning to see that too.”

“I’m a work in progress, remember?”

“I do.”


	7. Day 7 - Genuine

Dear Blaine,

I know I’ve always gotten you funny birthday cards before, but I wanted to change it up a little this year. You know, since we’re married now and have to be real adults.

The truth is, while I’ve always been able to stand up for what I believe in, I’ve never been able to express my feelings for you - or any of the people I love, really - with the same kind of intensity. Whenever I try to put them into words, I feel like I’m either not conveying enough or I’m conveying so much that it just becomes trite and cliched.

But for you, I’m willing to try to be genuine.

Blaine, I love you. You know this. (I assume - unless you think the rings mean something else. ;D) I love you more than I’ve ever loved another person, with the possible exception of my dad, but I think you’re okay with that. You constantly awe me, Blaine - with your big, open heart and your incredible talent, how could you not? Sometimes it hits me all over again just how wonderful you are, and I can’t believe that you’re mine.

I suppose it makes sense on some level, though. Not to suddenly make it all about me, but you also inspire me, Blaine. You push me to become my best self, which how I come even a little bit close to deserving you. Well, maybe _deserving_ isn’t the right word - to equaling you. To fully being your partner, in every sense of the word.

We’ve spent some amazing years together. Today, I can’t wait to see what you do as the next year of your life begins. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

Love,

Kurt


	8. Day 8 - Health

“Ugh - no - stop - oh, you piece of crap.”

“Um. What are you doing, B?” Kurt asked, coming out of their bedroom and taking a seat on the couch next to Blaine.

“Trying to beat this gym leader,” Blaine said, showing Kurt the screen of his old Game Boy DS. “I found this in that box of stuff Mom sent over from the house in Ohio, and I got nostalgic. I apparently forgot how bad I was at Pokemon, though - I keep losing health and dying like nobody’s business.”

“Let me see,” Kurt said, motioning for Blaine to hand him the console. “I used to be okay at Pokemon back in the day.”

“Be my guest.” Blaine gave Kurt the Game Boy and sat back to watch.

“Alright, level 40, that’s handy. But a water type against a grass type? That’s where little you went wrong, honey. What else you got?” Kurt navigated over to Blaine’s Pokedex. “What the fuck.”

“What?”

“Blaine, you have one really well-trained Swampert and five level 3 Pidgeys,” Kurt said, raising an eyebrow. “How do you expect to beat any gym leaders with only one decent Pokemon?”

“I didn’t know how to strategize when I was nine!” Blaine defended. “I just knew my Mudkip was cute and I wanted to make it as cool as possible.”

“That’s adorable,” Kurt said with a laugh. “And I did the same, at first. But then I wanted to get _good_ at Pokemon, so I asked my dad for one of those strategy magazines they used to sell and never looked back.”

“Ambitious from the beginning, I see.”

“You know it.”

“And love it.”

“I love you too. But please treat your Pokemon better before they arrest you for digital animal abuse.”

“If I have time to keep playing in between, you know, getting gigs, I’ll do my best.”


	9. Day 9 - Inch

Blaine’s first coherent thought after waking up was _oh no_.

He and Kurt had gone to bed loosely intertwined, but at some point in the night, Kurt had wrapped himself around Blaine like a kid clutching a stuffed animal, leaving Blaine no way to escape. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem, except....

 _God I have to pee,_ Blaine thought, pressing his lips together. _I shouldn’t have downed that glass of water before bed. Okay, what do I do?_

Blaine cracked open his eyes and waited for them to make sense of the dark shapes in the bedroom. Kurt was sound asleep on his chest, breathing deep and slow for the first time in a week - he’d been stressed about rehearsals, and it had affected his rest. If Kurt had been sleeping normally all week, Blaine wouldn’t have felt too bad about making him stir for a moment so he could get up, but now Blaine was afraid any interruptions would throw Kurt’s sleep cycle back out of whack.

 _Nothing else to do, then,_ Blaine thought. He relaxed as many of his muscles as he could without having an accident, then carefully started inching away from Kurt.

_Easy...easy...there’s one leg out, easy..._

It was then that Blaine misjudged the distance to the floor, causing him to topple out of bed ungracefully rather than gently place his foot on the ground.

“Blaine?” Kurt asked blearily.

“Oh, that’s not what I wanted to happen,” Blaine grunted.

“What are you doing?”

“I was trying to get to the bathroom without waking you up.”

“Well, you’re doing a spectacular job.”

“Ha _ha._ Just go back to sleep, Kurt. I’ll be back in a sec.”

“Holding you to that.”

Kurt was out before Blaine even crossed the threshold to the bathroom.


	10. Day 10 - Judgment

“How is it legal for them to print this garbage?” Kurt seethed, throwing a tabloid magazine down on the coffee table.

Blaine leaned forward to read the headline aloud. “‘Is Broadway Darling Blaine Anderson Secretly Straight? Our Experts Weigh In.’ Oh my God.”

“Don’t they have something better to write about? Isn’t one of Angie’s kids doing something?”

“Apparently not,” Blaine said with a snicker. “At least this headline is hilarious. Why the hell would I pretend to be gay? So I can get passed up for every leading man role because I can’t act believably next to a woman?”

“Of course not, B. It’s so you can win social justice points and earn more fans,” Kurt said, finally turning the corner from anger to amusement. “It’s all about purity politics these days.”

“Right, how could I have forgotten? That’s why I stage all of our photo ops so I’m shown in the best, gayest light.”

“I plan on tattooing a rainbow to my bicep so I always rep the community.”

“Just your bicep? That’s not commitment. Commitment is getting it tattooed to your ass.”

“Blaine. Even in my satirical fantasies, I cannot sink as low as an ass tattoo.”

“I’d love you either way, but I can’t say I’m upset you won’t get an ass tattoo.”

“And this is how I know you can’t possibly be faking your love for me. You’d stick with me even if I got an ass tattoo?”

“Even if you got a _face_ tattoo, babe. I’m in this for life.”

“Oh my God, no. I love you too, but please never make me consider a face tattoo ever again.” 

“I think I can do that.”


	11. Day 11 - Key

"Blaine. Help. I think I’m going to develop tinnitus.”

“Is that hyperbole, or do I need to take you to the ER?” Blaine asked, turning his gaze from the TV to the entrance of their apartment, where Kurt stood, coat in hand. “I’m assuming the former, but I’ve been watching medical dramas, and you know how I get.”

“Yes, I do. If you start thinking everything is lupus again, I’m going to make Carole have a strict talk with you. But anyways - yes, it was hyperbole. Rehearsal was just a nightmare.”

“Oh, honey,” Blaine said sympathetically. “Need to vent?”

“You know me so well,” Kurt said, coming over to collapse next to Blaine on the couch. “Someone needs to have a word with our creative team. It’s great that Lydia can hit notes only audible to dogs, but that doesn’t mean she needs to sustain one in every song.”

“I think I understand where the tinnitus comment came from now.”

“Uh huh. And when I hinted that maybe the key was too high in a couple of these songs, they all looked at me with false concern and said they would think about it, but that I also should consider some voice training if I’m struggling with some of the notes.”

“No!”

“Yes!” Kurt said, placing a hand on top of Blaine’s. “Blaine. You know my range.”

“And so should they, if they even skimmed your audition form,” Blaine said, shaking his head in derision. “Sounds like we might need to start asking Artie to _not_ pass our names along to his director friends. Between this and that guy who thought a nude _Little Mermaid_ was just what the world needed….”

“Ugh, I’d just managed to repress that. Thanks a lot, B.”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine said, pressing a quick kiss to Kurt’s brow. “Why don’t you go grab a shower while I Seamless some brownies from that bakery uptown to make up for it?”

“That sounds wonderful,” Kurt said, pushing himself upright and off the couch. He got one step away from the couch, then snorted.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just - you just proved you know my favorite key.”

“Which is?” Blaine prompted, confused.

“The key to my heart.”

Blaine groaned so hard he thought he might strain a vocal cord.


	12. Day 12 - Limited

“ _I’m liiiimited. Just look at me - I’m liiiiimiteeeed. And just look at you, you can do all I couldn’t do, Blaiiiiine. So nooooow it’s up tooo youuuuuu-_ ”

“I see your painkillers kicked in,” Blaine laughed, placing the final ornament gently on the tree before turning to where Kurt was snuggled up on the couch. “You feeling better?”

“Snug as a bug in a rug,” Kurt said. Blaine could see a bit of a glaze in his eyes. “And the tree looks sooo pretty, Blaine! Really good.”

“Glad you think so,” Blaine said, smiling. “You’ll have to tell me if you feel the same way when you’re sober.”

“Of course I will,” Kurt said. “Everything you do is so good.”

“You sure about that? I didn’t quite manage to catch you in time when you skidded on that ice earlier, and now....”

“S’not your fault I’m clumsy,” Kurt said, shaking his head dismissively. “And it’s only a sprained ankle. If I’d had to get an amputation or something, we might be having words, but this? This is nothing.”

“So that’s where the line is. Good to know,” Blaine said, coming over to the couch. He gently lifted Kurt’s bad leg, placing it on his lap as he sat down. “You’re right - the tree does look pretty from here.”

“I’m always right, Blaine.”

“If you say so,” Blaine said, stifling a snicker as he reached for the remote. “Now, how do you feel about watching _A Christmas Prince_ while high on pain medication?”

“YES.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”


	13. Day 13 - Mist

“Oh, ugh.”

“Wha?” Blaine asked, coming out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth.

“This weather,” Kurt said, gesturing out the living room window. “I hate mist. At least with rain, you can use an umbrella, and snow can be pretty, but mist just makes me feel clammy. I don’t want to go out in this to go to work.”

“I un’erstan,” Blaine said. He darted back into the bathroom to spit, then came out a few moments later with a big grin. “Looks like one of us got lucky there, though.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow.

“Nora just cancelled rehearsal,” Blaine said. “She’s got a nasty cold, and she doesn’t want to risk infecting us since we’re opening pretty soon. Of course, if Nora wasn’t a paranoid maniac, she’d just let the AD run rehearsal, but...”

“It’s Nora,” Kurt agreed. “If you let the AD run rehearsal, everything will go directly to hell.”

“One day I’d really like to hear what happened to her that made her believe that,” Blaine said, shaking his head. “But for now, I can settle for not having to go out in this crap.”

“I want to be as lucky as you,” Kurt whined. “Wait - I _can._ ”

“Just remembered that you’re your own boss?” Blaine asked with a smirk.

“Shut up, you know I don’t primarily consider myself a jewelry designer,” Kurt said, reaching down to gently chuck one of the throw pillows on the couch at his husband. “But yeah, all I had to do today was work on those engagement ring designs and approve some packaging. There’s nothing stopping me from just doing that here.”

“I’m much better company than your coworkers, too.”

“And I trust your taste more than some of them....”

“Marissa at it again?”

“I didn’t tell you? Let me call Kate and tell her I won’t be in, then I’ll give you the full story. Not to spoil anything, but now Marissa’s on a _shaped stone_ kick. Ever wanted an engagement ring that looked like an anatomically correct human heart?”

“Jesus.”

“You have no idea.”


	14. Day 14 - Nose

One of the many little things that Kurt loved about being with Blaine was their temperature difference. Kurt himself always ran a little chilly, while Blaine was like a tiny space heater, so they could stay intertwined for hours while Kurt warmed up and Blaine barely even noticed a difference.

Of course, there was one part of Blaine’s body that never seemed to get the memo.

“Ahh!” Kurt gasped quietly, trying not to disturb Blaine. “God.”

Blaine just snuffled, burying his face farther in Kurt’s chest. His cold nose pressed harder against the bare skin by Kurt’s neck, making goosebumps erupt on Kurt’s skin.

“How is it that every part of your body is warm except your nose?” Kurt muttered. “Even your fingers and toes stay pretty warm, for God’s sake.”

“Kurt?” Blaine mumbled sleepily.

“Shhh, it’s fine. I was just talking to myself,” Kurt said, rubbing a hand down Blaine’s back. “Go back to sleep.”

“Kay.” Blaine rolled over and dozed off again immediately.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Kurt whispered, curling up close behind him to press his feet up against Blaine’s.

Blaine shuddered in his sleep, which made Kurt quirk a half-smile.

 _All’s fair..._ was his last coherent thought before drifting off.


	15. Day 15 - Orgy

Kurt wasn’t sure how he’d gotten roped into going to the living nativity scene. He remembered drinking some heavily spiked eggnog with his dad, Carole, and Blaine the night before, but how had that led to plans to go to the display at Lima Presbyterian? Was there really nothing else going on in Ohio?

“Cheer up,” Blaine whispered, coming up next to Kurt and placing his hand in his. “It’s too cold for any of us to linger. We’ll see the animals and the baby Jesus and be back home before you know it.”

“Since when are you a mind reader?” Kurt whispered back, smiling.

“Your face is an open book right now, hon.”

Kurt swung their connected hands idly as they wandered up to the nativity, not too concerned about the other viewers’ reactions. Who would want to cause a ruckus at a nativity scene? Wouldn’t that get someone placed immediately on Jesus’s naughty list?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that would cause far more of a scandal than two men holding hands near a church.

“Blaine.”

“Mmm?”

“Blaine. Stop trying to see if they’re committing child abuse by putting a real baby in that manger, and look at the sheep.”

Blaine turned in the direction of Kurt’s gaze. “Oh my God.”

“They’re having an orgy!” Kurt hissed, trying desperately not to start cackling. “I didn’t even know sheep could do that!”

“Stop looking!”

“I can’t, it’s too funny!”

Off in the distance, one sheep was humping another while a third pressed its face against the face of the one being mounted. Kurt watched in horrified glee as a fourth sheep came up and mounted the third, finishing the circuit.

“Shouldn’t mating season be over by now?” Blaine asked, voice muffled by the hand he’d pressed over his mouth.

“Maybe they’re cold too? The wind chill right now is nasty.”

“That’s not all that’s nasty, clearly.”

“Blaine! Do not make me laugh at a sheep orgy during a nativity scene! I don’t want anyone else to see what’s happening here!”

“I’m sorry, I just - I think my brain is shutting down right now.”

“C’mon, we’re going back to the car. If Dad or Carole asks, I tripped on something and twisted my ankle.”

“Sounds like a plan.”


	16. Day 16 - Perform

“God, you were so good tonight,” Kurt said, slamming Blaine into their living room wall and just barely managing to kick the door closed behind them.

“Me? You’re the one who killed during Santa Baby.”

“We were in a gay bar full of drunks, Blaine. Santa Baby is possibly the easiest song I could’ve performed to earn that reaction.”

“Don’t be humble, it doesn’t suit you.” Blaine punctuated this admonishment with a nip to Kurt’s neck.

“Fine, but then you have to admit that you nailed Baby Please Come Home, and not just because you were making love to the mic stand the entire time.”

“Now that’s some suggestive phrasing.” Blaine pushed off the wall, flipping their positions. “I have to admit, the mic stand isn’t the only thing I want to make love to tonight, though.”

“Oh?” Kurt asked, grinding into Blaine’s thigh. “I saw that lumberjack just eating you up with his eyes, did you want to go back and-”

Blaine shut him up with a deep kiss. “No.”

“Good answer. You know he couldn’t possibly _perform_ as well as I can.”

“You’re incomparable, Kurt. Now come on, show me just how much.”

“With pleasure.”


	17. Day 17 - Raw

“It smells delicious in here!” Kurt said, bustling into the kitchen with all of his outdoor gear still on. He unwound his scarf as he inhaled deeply. “I love Christmas cookie season.”

“Because you barely have to do any work,” Blaine teased, rolling out the dough for his shortbread cookies.

“Hey, I try to help! You get very uptight about my methods, that’s all.” Kurt left briefly to hang up his coat and scarf, then came back to wrap his arms around Blaine’s waist.

“Hey!” Blaine smacked Kurt’s hand, which was snaking toward the lump of dough. “It’s not uptight to try to keep you from getting salmonella.”

“Oh come on, how frequently does raw dough actually make anyone sick?” Kurt said, begrudgingly withdrawing his hand.

“Well-”

“Give me one example, Blaine. Just one.”

“Um...”

“What was that?”

“I can’t think of one, okay? But there are always warnings about it!”

“Yeah, well, there are also warnings for homosexual content in movies, but you don’t see that deterring us,” Kurt said.

“That would kind of defeat the point, wouldn’t it?” Blaine asked. “Also, are you comparing us being gay to eating raw cookie dough?”

“I didn’t stop to think if it was a comparison that actually worked, I just wanted to wear you down enough that you’d let me snatch some dough.”

“Fine. Fine! Be free, have at it. Just don’t come crying to me if you get food poisoning,” Blaine said, throwing his hands up melodramatically.

“Like you could resist the urge to coddle me if I get sick.”

“Shh. Let me have this moment.”

“As you wish.”


	18. Day 18 - Stir

A noise like footsteps in the living room made Blaine stir confusedly.

“Kurt?” he whispered, reaching out a hand. The warm bulk of Kurt’s shoulder was right where it should be. “Oh God.”

“Mmm?” Kurt rolled over to face Blaine, cracking his eyes open blearily. “What’s happening?”

“Do you hear footsteps?” Blaine asked, barely making a sound in case the person in the living room wasn’t friendly.

Kurt listened for a moment, sitting up with a jolt when the footsteps continued. “Who-”

“I don’t know,” Blaine said. “But we might want to go find out.”

“Take your phone,” Kurt said, motioning toward Blaine’s nightstand. “I’ll grab…this.”

Kurt got out of bed and hefted the big ceramic vase on their dresser.

“That could take someone down,” Blaine said with a nod. “And I’ve got 911 typed in and ready to dial.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Blaine trailed a couple of steps behind Kurt as they walked carefully out to the living room, where a mysterious figure was creeping out their door.

“Hey!” Kurt cried, trying to follow, but Blaine grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Wait,” Blaine said, eyes fixed on their Christmas tree. “Look at this.”

“That present wasn’t there before,” Kurt said, following Blaine’s gaze. “We haven’t wrapped anything yet.”

“No, no, we have not,” Blaine said slowly.

“Did you happen to notice what color that man was wearing?” Kurt asked. “Because I thought it was red, as best I could tell.”

“I didn’t quite make out a color, but I thought he looked like a bigger man. His belly reminded me of-”

“-A bowl full of jelly? No. No, it can’t be-”

“-It was definitely Santa.”

“Well, fuck me.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”


	19. Day 19 - Talk

_Hey, Blaine._

Hi, Kurt.

_How’s rehearsal going?_

Better, now that I’ve gone on vocal rest and stopped straining the high notes. How’s the laryngitis?

_I still sound like a strangled cat whenever I try to speak. but my throat doesn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday._

That’s good! I still can’t believe we’ve resorted to texting each other in our own home.

_It was this or try to communicate via sign language for a week. Or did you want to just stop talking to me entirely?_

Never. I just miss /actually/ talking to you.

_Me too. It’s weird not having one or both of us humming as we move around the apartment._

Right?! I keep opening my mouth to sing in the shower or as I wait for the stove to boil and reminding myself I can’t do that. I didn’t realize how much I sang, honestly.

_I did. ;)_

Hey! :(

_You know I love it._

I do. So what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you can talk again?

_Go yell at our downstairs neighbors for playing the same three songs over and over again at top volume. You?_

...I was gonna tell you I love you and that I missed your voice.

_Oh. Can I change my answer to that?_

Always.

_I love you._

I love you too.


	20. Day 20 - Underline

“Blaine, we’ve got a bit of a situation on our hands.”

“What’s up?” Blaine said, emerging from their en-suite bathroom to sit on the bed next to Kurt.

“I got the girls to write their Christmas lists while you were showering, and Ella’s should be easy enough to handle, but Vivi’s...well.”

“What’d she do?” Blaine asked, reaching for the sheets of paper in Kurt’s hands. “Wow.”

“Yep. When I saw how much she’d written down, I asked her if she’d underline the most important things, so Santa would know what had to get in the sleigh, but then she underlined _everything._ ”

“Yikes,” Blaine said. “At least a lot of this stuff is pretty easy to get, but how are we supposed to know which of these things she cares about the most? She loves everything so much, it’s not like she’s been hyperfocused on one toy in particular.”

“You see the dilemma,” Kurt said.

“Let me try to talk to her. Maybe now that it’s been a few minutes, she’ll have moved on from the excitement of listmaking a little.”

“Only you could describe listmaking as exciting. She’s definitely your kid,” Kurt snorted.

“Very funny,” Blaine said, though he didn’t even try to hide his smile. “Be right back.”

Blaine found Vivi playing dolls alone in her room. “Hey princess. Got a minute?”

“Yeah, Daddy,” Vivi said, putting her Barbies down. “She needs a timeout anyways.”

“Sounds dramatic,” Blaine said, smiling at the serious look on her cute six-year-old face. “Papa showed me your Christmas list. What’s up with all the underlining, V?”

Vivi chewed her lip, looking down at the floor.

“Vivi?”

“Todd told me Santa isn’t real!” she shouted, upset. “And I didn’t believe him, but I wanna be sure. So I underlined _everything_ on my list, because if Santa really is magic, he’ll know what’s most important without me telling him, right?”

Blaine froze, knowing he had to handle this situation carefully - he wasn’t going to be responsible for destroying his daughter’s belief in Santa.

“You’re right, honey,” he said after a moment. “Of course Santa knows which things on your list you want the most. But Santa’s not the only person who sees your list, is he?”

“No.”

“No, Papa and I and all the rest of the family - Grandpa Burt and Grandma Carole and Nana Pam and all of your aunties and uncles - we all see the list too, and we’re not Santa. We _don’t_ know which of those things are the most important. The underlining isn’t for Santa, like Papa said - it’s for us.”

“Oh. That makes sense! Why didn’t Papa say that?”

“I think he got his words confused. The underlining isn’t so Santa knows what to get you - it’s so we don’t accidentally get you a present Santa’s already got covered.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Vivi said, eyes lighting up. “Okay. Can you tell Papa to give me my list back? I’ll put star stickers by the important ones.”

“Gold ones?”

“No! Those are all for Auntie Rachel. Mine will be pink.”

“Sounds perfect,” Blaine said, ruffling his daughter’s curls.


	21. Day 21 - Variation

"Remind me why I thought it would be a good idea to take a ballet class as an adult?”

“You want to stay limber and get better control of your core,” Blaine said, sitting down on the scant inch of bed where Kurt wasn’t flopped face-first. “And it’s working, remember? You were very flexible when we-”

“Do not even finish that sentence when I’m in too much pain for round two,” Kurt said, turning his neck to glare at Blaine. Some of the effect was lost when he refused to lift his head from the pillow, though.

“Oh, honey,” Blaine said sympathetically. “Bad day?”

“We did the same variation like seven times,” Kurt explained. “I stretched muscles I didn’t even know existed.”

“The endorphins will kick in eventually. Until then, do you want the heating pad or a cold bath?”

“Heating pad. I’m too exhausted to take my clothes off.”

“Well,” Blaine began lasciviously.

“Again, not when I can’t enjoy it, B.”

“Fair enough.”


	22. Day 22 - Variation

“How deep is your looove?” Blaine slur-sang, stumbling under Kurt’s arm as they made their way into their apartment after a night of caroling and eggnog at Elliott’s.

“Are you ever not in the mood for the Bee Gees?” Kurt asked, laughing. He’d stopped after two drinks, knowing that Elliott and Santana both had heavy pours, but Blaine had gladly taken them up on a fifth eggnog, which may have been a bad choice on his part.

“Nope,” Blaine said. He wiggled out from Kurt’s hold to flop down on the couch. “But I don’t understand.”

“Don’t understand what, hon?” Kurt said, pulling his coat off.

“Everyone talks about the depth of their love, but what about the width?” Blaine asked, hiccuping a little. “I don’t want someone to love only part of me, even if they love that part a lot. I want someone to love _all_ of me. Why does no one talk about the width?”

“Good question,” Kurt said, genuinely struck. Drunk Blaine wasn’t usually this much of a philosopher. “I suppose part of the problem is that ‘how wide is your love’ sounds like a veiled insult about your partner’s weight.”

“That’s not right,” Blaine said. “No one should feel bad about what they weigh. And their partner should love the physical width of them too!”

“I know, B. Some people just aren’t as smart as we are.”

“Poor them.”

“Poor them indeed. You ready for bed?”

Blaine drooped at the word _bed_ , eyes fluttering.

“I’ll take that as a yes. C’mon,” Kurt said, helping Blaine get up and walk to their room. As Blaine started getting undressed, Kurt dashed back to the kitchen to get him a big glass of water, pulling his phone out to Google a fragment of a quote that came to him along the way.

“Hey, Blaine. I just remembered a quote about the width of love - you wanna hear it?”

“Yes!”

“I figured you would,” Kurt said, smiling. “Alright, here we go: _How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach..._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poets.org comin' in clutch for me here...


	23. Day 23 - Year

Kurt dropped heavily onto the couch, all his energy leaving with the last of their party guests.

“That was fun,” Blaine said, curling up next to Kurt. “I’m so happy we were all able to get together for Christmas.”

“Me too,” Kurt said. “Especially after the past year - or _years_ , really.”

“They have been kind of a whirlwind, haven’t they? We technically shouldn’t be married yet, since our wedding was supposed to be next summer.”

“We also technically shouldn’t be married because we broke up and you started dating Dave.”

“Details,” Blaine said, waving a hand. “Whatever the case, I’m glad we’re married now.”

“I would hope so,” Kurt teased. “I’m pretty happy about it myself. But even before all the madness of our breakup and reunion, there was the first Christmas without Finn, and then the Christmas before _that_ we were going through our _first_ breakup. I’m amazed we have _any_ holiday traditions after all of that.”

“We’re adaptable,” Blaine said, leaning up to kiss Kurt’s cheek. “And heck, the Christmas before that featured Artie’s Christmas special, which isn’t really normal. Maybe we’re destined to just have interesting Christmastimes.”

“Oh, I really hope not.”

“Oh?”

“I want next Christmas - or honestly, all of next year - to be slow. I want to savor our time together, not just experience it. I don’t think we could ever be _dull_ , but I’d like for it to not be a surprise that we’re spending Christmas together and seeing our loved ones. I want it to be a matter of fact.”

“You have always been a matter of fact for me, Kurt.”

“And you for me. I just want one year where we fully get the chance to show it. If we return to some hectic-ness the year after that, fine. I just need one year.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”


	24. Day 24 - Zone

Blaine knew it was foolish to try to talk to Kurt when he was preparing to go out on Christmas Eve for a couple of last-minute items, but given the situation, he felt he had no choice.

“Kurt?”

No response. Kurt was busy pinning his pointiest brooch on his vest, his face furrowed in concentration.

Blaine waited a moment, watching as Kurt ran back into the bathroom to ensure his hair was the right volume, then tried again.

“Kurt.”

Kurt stepped into his boots and left the bedroom. Blaine trailed after him, growing more concerned.

“Kurt!”

Blaine tried to pitch his voice over the sound of Kurt zipping up his coat, but he could tell he still hadn’t broken through. It was time to bring out the big guns.

“Kurt,” Blaine said one last time, stepping forward to place his hands on Kurt’s shoulders. He blocked Kurt’s path to the door with his body before leaning in and planting a deep kiss on Kurt’s mouth.

Kurt melted under his touch. When they finally came up for air, he took a shuddering breath before saying, “Blaine! I was in the zone!”

“I know you were, baby, but, uh....” Blaine left his sentence unfinished, gesturing down toward Kurt’s legs instead.

“What?” Kurt looked down. “Oh. Oh my God.”

“Yeah, I thought you might want pants.”

“I mean, it’s not _that_ cold, but I don’t really want to get arrested today, so....”

“Interruption forgiven?”

“Interruption always forgiven. Now let me go grab some pants and get out there before the city descends into chaos.”

“Excellent plan.”


End file.
